Miss Wing Commander? SOL: Exodus is a return to space combat

SOL: Exodus is a space combat title coming to the PC and other unnamed …

There are many genres of games that don't have much of a presence in the modern gaming market, but the lack of a good space opera is particularly troubling for those of us who like to dogfight our way around planets and through asteroid fields. Seamless Entertainment is a developer that wants to bring back the space combat genre with its upcoming game, SOL: Exodus.

We don't have much to go on yet, just a teaser trailer and a logo, but the team includes some high-quality talent who seem to have a deep love for the genre. Chris Stockman is the game's creative director—he also worked on Tachyon: the Fringe. When we talked to him recently, he pointed out that publishers are risk-averse when it comes to genres that don't look like other big, recent hits.

"...Until someone else takes the plunge and has success," studio director Dan Magaha continued. Their hope is to be the "someone else" that proves space combat still has an audience.

Where did space combat games go wrong?

So let's start at the beginning. Why did space combat games fall away from the mainstream? Magaha said the games lost touch with what gamers want to play."I want to be Luke Skywalker flying an X-Wing and taking down the Death Star, not a guy micromanaging an array of sensors and flight controls. I want to be Apollo from BSG, annihilating enemy ships and winning massive battles, not a Ferengi trader banking credits hauling goods from point A to B, that just happens to be in space," he explained.

SOL Exodus

And this is the time to return to space combat. "Right now we're experiencing a bit of a renaissance for independent game development; there's a confluence of two major forces here: increasing price/performance of development tools that allow you to do a lot more with less, and a variety of paths to market that just didn't exist in the past," Magaha told Ars. "We're certainly not the only ones to take advantage of this; I think you can look at what Adhesive is doing with Hawken, what Notch was able to do with Minecraft; you've got guys like Haunted Temple with Skulls of the Shogun, Mode 7 with Frozen Synapse, and dozens of others I'm remiss in not naming here."

The team stressed that it has created an action game, so we're not going to get bogged down in cut-scenes. But storyline is important, and the developers want to convey the personality of the characters in the world. "In a longer-term context, we've created what we think is a really interesting universe and our hope is to continue to tell stories within that universe for some time to come," Stockman said.

They wouldn't comment on co-op or multiplayer beyond saying that details on both are coming. They also clammed up when I asked about platforms, although we do know that the game will be coming to PC. The game is already enjoying a large amount of buzz on the gaming blogs—maybe more than the thin amount of news deserves. This is even more evidence that gamers want to return to space in their action games.

The marketing materials promise huge capital ships, dogfights, and hordes of enemies. Even better, the game will be set in our solar system, so you'll be flying around recognizable planets instead of nameless starfields in the far reaches of space.

"I have to say, the sheer quantity of e-mails and comments we've received since our announcement went live that basically said 'It's about time!' have really reinforced our own feelings that there's a market for this kind of game," Magaha said.

I have to agree, and as I wrote this story, my mind wandered back to the time I spent with Tachyon, Wing Commander, and X-Wing on the PC. The market for space combat is completely open, and it's theirs to win. Or to remind everyone why these games don't sell.

Wing Commander and Wolfenstein were the first non-educational video games that I ever played (I was 7 or 8 at the time) on our old 386. I can still remember the feeling of immense satisfaction I'd get sneaking up behind an enemy ship and blasting it to pieces. The nostalgia is flooding back. :)

The Freespace 2 Source Code Project has allowed a wonderful game like Freespace 2 to remain on my hard drive. It's a shame that I've had to rely on a game that came out 12 years ago to scratch my space combat itch, but it has managed to do so.

If this title is at least as good as 12 year old Freespace 2 then the developers will get my money.

I've been a big fan of games like this, the various Wing Commander games, and especially Colony Wars. I was a little disappointed by XBLA Star Raiders remake that came out a few months back though. This game looks like it has more potential.

Wing Commander and Privateer are two of my all time favorite series of games. Wing Commander Armada had a fun multiplayer mode too. I hope these guys come out with something worthy to play. I'd probably get it if it were only single player, but I really would love to see a networkable version as well.

Oh, please let this be good...we need some good space combat games again!

Some of my fondest SNES memories were playing Wing Commander (RIP Paladin, but screw you Maniac, you weren't covering me for shit!) over and over again. The mix of space combat and talking to RPG-like dialog with your crew mates created an amazingly immersive game.

I will say though, for any of you that are fans of the genre, you might want to check out Project Sylpheed on the 360. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but if you want a decent space combat game with customizable loadouts, intense dogfights and the opportunity to take on capital ships with heavy weapons in a little fighter, it's a great way to scratch the itch.

I'm hoping that this game can at least achieve Sylpheed's level of execution, and cautiously optimistic that it can maybe go beyond that and return us to the level of the awesome games of yore.

I was discouraged by the trailer until that shot of a fracked up Earth at the end, and then the confirmation in the story that it will be set in our solar system. Total lack of familiar objects or even textures in space-based games is not appealing to me. I need a little reality.

That wasn't a teaser or a trailer, it was a waste of 2 minutes and 16 seconds of my life that I want back. Seriously, are we supposed to get excited over this???And have none of you at ARS heard of EVE-Online?? How much more epic do you want!?!?

That wasn't a teaser or a trailer, it was a waste of 2 minutes and 16 seconds of my life that I want back. Seriously, are we supposed to get excited over this???And have none of you at ARS heard of EVE-Online?? How much more epic do you want!?!?

I would figure most people don't want to spend days or weeks leveling up a character to do some space combat. They want to start a game, and jump right into space dog-fighting.

I really hope this pans out and doesn't just die on the vine like so many other promising looking titles in the past few years.

I also really hope (aka, I probably won't buy it unless) it comes out on PC, isn't overly "consolized" and supports a real control system (Joystick/HOTAS). It'd be a shame if it didn't support TrackIR - though I'd likely forgive that point (for a time) even though it would be a glaring omission.

If they can do that, however - I'm there.

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I loved TIE fighter, but hated X-wing/Wing Commander. Am I broken in this regard?

Only partially. X-Wing and XWA were good as well, but I'm entirely with you on the Wing Commander series. It just never clicked with me for some reason. I loved Strike Commander though, so it wasn't just a case of "I don't care for Chris Roberts" .

They were, but IMO, they suffered death due to crappy marketing. I loved them, but I didn't play either of them until years after they were dead and gone. Why?

Descent: Freespace.

I played Descent. It was OK, but when it came down to it, I didn't really much care for it. It was just another FPS and not really a "space sim". When I later saw something called "Descent Freespace" I simply wrote it off as another Descent game. I doubt I was the only one to have made that mistake,

It wasn't until years later when people really talked it up and explained exactly what it really was that I gave it a chance. I only wish I had years before, because I would have purchased it.

So they were jewels of a game, but unfortunately saddled with a lot of negative baggage associated with the name. If they'd just dropped the "Descent" I imagine they'd have done better.

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Dear FSM, please make this more like the Freespace and X-Wing series and not like Rogue Squadron/Starfighter. Give me some control over the ship's systems and weapons loadouts.

Agreed here as well. I'm not looking to micromanage to death and "fly a spreadsheet", but that's one of the things I loved about games like the X-Wing series. There was some level of systems management required, and it allowed for squeezing every last bit of performance out of your ship for the given situation. And in some cases allowed for some really "non-standard" and creative solutions to problems. I also liked getting to prioritize in-flight repairs when stuff got damaged. "Yes, R2, we very much need weapons and shields, but we'll die before we can use them if we keep going in a straight line. Fix the flight controls first!"

That wasn't a teaser or a trailer, it was a waste of 2 minutes and 16 seconds of my life that I want back. Seriously, are we supposed to get excited over this???And have none of you at ARS heard of EVE-Online?? How much more epic do you want!?!?

That wasn't a teaser or a trailer, it was a waste of 2 minutes and 16 seconds of my life that I want back. Seriously, are we supposed to get excited over this???And have none of you at ARS heard of EVE-Online?? How much more epic do you want!?!?

EVE Online isn't a space combat game. It's the aforementioned "Ferengi trader banking credits hauling goods from point A to B, that just happens to be in space." Two ships circling around each other while their "pilots" click the "kill target" button is just pathetic.

The space combat in EVE may be more "realistic" in terms of how a space battle would actually play out, but it's boring as hell. The space combat in Star Wars, BSG, Freespace, Wing Commander, etc was basically WWII dogfighting in space, which results in something that's actually *fun*.

Wing Commander was entertaining, at that time I loved it, but most of the time you where moving in tight loops to get at the back of your enemy, keep that position while firing round after round. And that was all the strategy you needed. So it got old a bit too quick. Tie Fighter was also fun.

But hey, if done right, I'm all on. It will be an excellent opportunity to dust off my flight stick .

BTW, nobody is slightly annoyed that in those games speed is not relative? I mean, you could accelerate up to a maximum speed, but no more. Stopping the engine would decelerate instead of keep moving at constant speed. And let's not speak about turning while the ship moves. I guess this makes it simpler to control and more predictable, but totally unrealistic.

BTW, nobody is slightly annoyed that in those games speed is not relative? I mean, you could accelerate up to a maximum speed, but no more. Stopping the engine would decelerate instead of keep moving at constant speed. And let's not speak about turning while the ship moves. I guess this makes it simpler to control and more predictable, but totally unrealistic.

"Full Newtonian" flight models often get back to being "not so fun" fairly quickly for most. I think the old B5: IFH approach worked very well. Normal flight was much as you'd experience in the X-Wing/WC/FS series, but you could flip a switch and go into Newtonian mode which allowed you to continue on your current vector but rotate around and blast the guy following you.

To really take advantage of it you needed a full HOTAS however (not that I'm complaining) because you had a full six degrees of freedom with the thrusters.

So yeah, add a hybrid flight model to my list of "Things I really want in my space sim".

Yes, more spaceships please. Not enough of those around. But for crying out loud BRING IT TO CONSOLES. I am a trophy nut. Starlancer/Freelancer, X3, a couple others I think - only on PC. I think a good space flight game could totally take off - I keep wondering why it hasn't been done. For crying out loud someone bring back Descent! Give me 360 degree movement on all axes! (I have played none of the games I've listed btw so I'm making assumptions). And allow me to fly into a planet completely. Like be flying towards planet; get closer; enter atmosphere; land; get out and walk around. With scaling technology it should be possible - like the scaling in Just Cause 2.

That wasn't a teaser or a trailer, it was a waste of 2 minutes and 16 seconds of my life that I want back. Seriously, are we supposed to get excited over this???And have none of you at ARS heard of EVE-Online?? How much more epic do you want!?!?

I don't, nor will I ever, play MMO's. So I couldn't really care less about EVE. SP/MP space combat, that I'm interested in.

Time to dust off the Logitech joystiq! I think I'll hit up GOG and practice some Freespace 1&2. Now if I could get a copy of the X-Wing and TIE games to run on Win7, we'd be golden.

There have been user fixes for X-Wing and Tie Fighter for some time.

I’ve successfully run TIE Fighter and the other games, though all of them have their individual compatibility quirks, some of which are fixable, others not. Many newer video cards don’t support older video modes (320×200) correctly, which is a problem for a good number of old games. X-Wing Alliance is notorious for distorted fonts (there is a replacement fonts package available.)

Amazingly, TIE Fighter and the other Star Wars games work and play great with the XBox controller—the games even default to useable control bindings even though gamepads were not originally made for the PC, let alone with analog controls like modern pads. (I have not bought or used a traditional joystick in years.)

I want to be Apollo from BSG, annihilating enemy ships and winning massive battles, not a Ferengi trader banking credits hauling goods from point A to B, that just happens to be in space," he explained.

I dunno dude, speak for yourself.

/Loves trading and clawing your way up in a virtual world (playing X3: Terran Conflict.... too bad it runs like crap on the Mac)

I loved Tachyon: The Fringe, it was the only game in this genre that I ever really got into.

Once I finished the campaign I tried to springboard that interest into other games in the genre, but the ones I tried all seemed to be simulators that made piloting far more difficult than necessary and I lost interest.

Excellent. I've loved space combat games since I got my hands on a copy of Freelancer several years back. That trailer looks like a trailer for Dead Space though...

Also, anyone else notice when you read out the address for the website very fast, it comes out as "You Arsehole"?

I read it as "You are SOL", as in "You are sh!t-out-of-luck."

I'm pretty sure it's meant to be read, "you are SOL". Given the state of Earth and the nature of this as an action game. I'd say it's probably going to be like a 3D bullet hell (armadas versus lone fighters or small groups) style action merged with the older and more open style of space combat seen in stuff like X-Wing.